WSS: Yamaha Qatar test summary

Parkes and Foret Fly on the New YZF-R6
Broc Parkes and Fabien Foret started the racetrack development work on
the new YZF-R6 in good form, posting 1-2 on the timesheets and making
significant gains in terms of the machine's overall ...

Parkes and Foret Fly on the New YZF-R6

Broc Parkes and Fabien Foret started the racetrack development work on
the new YZF-R6 in good form, posting 1-2 on the timesheets and making
significant gains in terms of the machine's overall performance.

Parkes set the fastest lap of the three days with a 2'01.9, a time
faster than the best lap from qualifying at this race in 2007, while
Foret's 2'02.5 was hardly less impressive for a rider in his first ride
on a new machine, and in a new team set-up.

Each rider completed highly successful full race simulations on the
final day of testing, a particular satisfaction on a bike that has an
entirely new chassis for 2008, and Yamaha's YCC-I variable intake system
proved itself at the very first time of asking, improving throttle
response and engine punch.

Broc Parkes (1st - 2'01.9 - Yamaha World Supersport Team)

"The new bike has been good right out of the box and we spent most of
our time on that, rather than the older one. We did a lot of work on the
new suspension and played with the mapping for the new variable throttle
bodies and it was all moving in the right direction. We made a lot of
little changes, not major ones and we had none of the niggling problems
you would expect from a first test of any new bike. The main improvement
has come from the performance of the bike when you have already made
quite a few laps; it is more consistent in lap times over a full race
simulation."

Fabien Foret (2nd - 2'02.5 - Yamaha World Supersport Team)

"I am honestly pretty happy because we made good lap times and the bike
was very consistent. I am not 100% with the front set-up yet but I did
a race distance and the bike was already better than last year's time,
so it all feels good. I only need to make the front end feel and the
braking performance better as I can't do exactly what I want right now.
It's only our first test, I didn't crash, so it was all OK."

Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Coordinator, Yamaha World Supersport Team)

"The long runs the guys did were very good and with the new bike that
was the main thing we were hoping to take from these tests. It's
not just the lap time, it's the race time that matters most. The
circumstances were a lot better than last year. We don't want to cheer
too loud because it is very early and all the teams found that their
tyres are lasting longer than before. But for a first test of a new
bike, so many new parts to try, things have worked out very well. We
have had time to do our homework with this bike but so far so good.
Fabien had a good feeling and only needs to improve the front end, but
he was only half a second from Broc, who knows the previous R6 very
well."